President Trump brushed off a black reporter’s question about how he would combat systemic racism after the high-profile death of a black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis police custody.
As he sat down to sign the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act at the White House on Friday, Trump pressed a finger to his lips as PBS correspondent Yamiche Alcindor shouted out a question about his plan for the future. “I’d like to sign this bill,” he said, noting it’s a “very different thing.” Trump then prided himself on the state of the economy.
“What’s happened to our country and what you now see has been happening is the greatest thing that could happen for race relations, for the African American community, for the Asian American — for the Hispanic American community, for women, for everything,” Trump said. “Our country is so strong, and that’s what my plan is. We’re going to have the strongest economy in the world.”
.@Yamiche: “Black unemployment went up by 0.1%, Asian American unemployment went up by 0.5% how is that a victory?”
President Trump: “You are something else.” pic.twitter.com/1B5IqBNzWz
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) June 5, 2020
Alcindor then brought up how unemployment had gone up slightly for Asian and black people, to which Trump responded: “You are something.”
My Q to President Trump just now: Overall, U.S. unemployment rate fell by 1 %. Black unemployment rate went up .1%. Asian American rate went up by .5%. How is that a victory?
His response to me: “You are something.”
Note: It’s a crucial question.
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) June 5, 2020
The May jobs report released by the Labor Department on Friday showed a surprising growth of 2.5 million jobs and an unemployment rate decline from nearly 15% to 13.3%. The economy has taken a hit from the coronavirus pandemic, but economists say the latest report was better than expected after April’s number.
